The principle of unity supports life, and our selfishness and separateness are simply a forgetting of this truth. “Samadhi according to this interpretation,” Easwaran explains in this week’s reading, “is not union with God but reunion.”
In this week’s short reading, pages 47–50 in Climbing the Blue Mountain,* Easwaran illustrates this compassionate perspective with an engaging story from the Hindu tradition, the story of a modern magician, and the Bible’s Prodigal Son.
May we draw on the support of our teacher and this dedicated community to leave behind separateness and recall our unity.
Is there a relationship in your life that you wish you could improve? Read this article for tips from Easwaran. Try applying those tips, even if you can’t apply them directly to this particular relationship.
Let’s continue building our muscles for putting others first:
Easwaran writes, “Nothing we do could have a more beneficial influence on those around us than remaining calm and considerate in the midst of ups and downs.” This week, reflect on a situation where you’ve been agitated recently and craft a strategy for remaining calm and considerate the next time you face it.
Let’s return to Easwaran’s Patanjali talks** for our spiritual treat, this time with Talk 11. The full talk is 75 minutes, but you can listen to part of it now and when you return the player will resume where you left off. If time is short, consider starting with just the first five minutes, in which Easwaran describes Patanjali’s testimony that our deepest driving need is “for experiential knowledge of the infinite, immortal, immutable reality whom we call God, who dwells in the depths of our consciousness.”
* For those using electronic versions of Climbing the Blue Mountain with different page numbering: this week’s reading is the first half of the chapter “The Forgotten Truth,” ending with “…recall what has been forgotten.”
** You’ll need to log in for the link above to work. If it’s your first time, use the button Create new account from the login page.